Reel



Dec. 31, 1963 R. F. RANDOLPH Y REEL Filed July 5, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ROLAND F. RANDOLPH Dec. 31, 1963 R. F. RANDOLPH 3,116,034

REEL

Filed July 5, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ROLAND F. RANDOLPH United States Patent 3,116,034 REEL Roland F. Randolph, RR. 2, Danville, find. Filed July 5, H62, Ser. No. 2lll,2i 2 3 Claims. ((11. 242l18.61)

The present invention relates to a reel. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No. 82,291, filed January 12, 1961, and now abandoned.

It is known in the art to provide disposable reels for insulated and non-insulated wire. Such reels have been manufactured in the same manner 1.9T many yems and are relatively expensive to manufacture when it is considered that the reels are thrown away after a single use. For example, the hardware alone included in such prior art reels costs from 85 to 95 and comprises bolts, lock washers, clinch nails and cup washers. Also, a large number of workers are required to perform the various steps necessary to manufacturing these reels, said steps including, for example, securing the various parts of the flanges together by means of clinch nails and securing the flanges to the core of the reel by bolting and cutting ofl the ends of the bolts.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide and improved reel which greatly reduces the cost of the material going into the reel and also reduces the number of workers necessary to assemble the reel.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved reel whereby the shipping weight of parts going into the reel is reduced, it being understood that it is the present practice to ship and reel flanges in unfinished condition so that they are quite a bit heavier than in the finished condition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reel which is relatively strong and resistant to breaking up as a result of its flange striking a rigid object (for example, when the reel is dropped) yet which is relatively inexpensive.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved disposable reel.

Related objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

One embodiment of the reel of the present invention comprises a pair of circular flanges each having a concen tric, annular indentation in one surface thereof. There is also provided a core having a cylindrical shape of equal diameter to the annular indentations. The flanges are received on the opposite ends of the core with the core seated in the indentations. There is also provided a strap extending through the flanges and the interior of the core and holding the flanges toward one another and also holding said core in seated relation in the indentations.

One embodiment of the method of the present invention comprises the steps of forming an annular indentation in each of a pair of flanges, forming apertures in each of said flanges inside of said indentation, inserting elongated staves in the indentation of one of the flanges and arranging said staves to form an annular core extending perpendicularly of said one flange, positioning the other flange upon said staves and seating the staves in the indentation of said other flange, passing a strap through the apertures of said flanges and through the interior of said core, and clamping the ends of said straps together at the outer face of said flanges.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

MG. 1 is a perspective view of a reel constructed according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken perpendicular to the axis of the reel of FIG. 1 and through the core of the reel.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a stave forming a part of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a section similar to the section of FIG. 2 of the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing and specific language will be used to described the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated a reel made up in general of a pair of flanges It) and a core 11. The flanges are preferably formed of plywood and are provided with the usual dog holes 12 and with a test hole 13 located just adjacent the core ll. The flanges 10 have mutually facing surfaces 15 each of which is provided with a concentric, annular indentation 16. It should be mentioned that the flanges Ill have a circular configuration and that the indentations 16 are concentrically located Within that circular configuration.

The core 11 is made up of a plurality of staves 20 each of which has an elongated shape which extends linearly in its longitudinal direction and each of which has a partcircular cross section as illustrated in FIG. 2. The staves 29 are arranged to form the core 11 which has a cylindrical shape, the diameter of which is equal to the diameter of the annular indentations 16 in the flanges 10.

The flanges are secured to the core by means of a pair of straps 21 each of which extends through four apertures 22 and 23 in each of the flanges, the apertures 22 being located symmetrically with relation to the apertures 23 about a diameter of the circular configuration of the flanges and also being located inside of the indentations 16. The straps 21 are clamped at their ends by means of suitable, commercially available clinching devices and are sufliciently tightly arranged in order to hold the flanges toward one another and the core firmly seated within the indentations 16 in the flanges.

The method of the present invention comprises routing out the annular indentations 16 in each of the two flanges ll). Next, one of the flanges lid is supported in a horizontal position with its indentation facing upwardly and the core 11 is assembled therewith by placing the various staves 24 in the indentation. The second flange is then positioned upon the staves and the staves are seated within the indentation of the second flange. The straps 21 are then passed through the apertures 22 and the interior of arteries the core 11 and the opposite ends of each strap are brought together as illustrated in FIG. 1. After placing tension on the straps, the ends are clamped together as shown in order to hold the flanges together and to hold the core in seated relation in the annular indentations. It should be mentioned that the step of passing the straps through the lowermost flange may, perhaps, be most easily accomplished before supporting that flange in the horizontal position.

From the above description, it can be appreciated that the present invention provides an improved reel which greatly reduces the cost of the various materials going into the reel. The invention also reduces the number of workers necessary to assemble the reel. In one s ecific application of the present invention, the cost of the two straps as the means for clamping the flanges to the core is as compared to to for the hardware going into the prior art reel. In this same application of the invention, the number of men involved in manufacturing the reels was reduced from 18 to 3.

In the same specific application of the invention, the material making up the flanges 11 was formed of five ply, flve-eighths inch thick plywood. The staves 21) were formed of molded white pine and had a thickness of three quarters of an inch. The straps were thirty-five thousandths of an inch thick and three-quarters of an inch wide, were formed of steel capable of withstanding thirtyone hundred pounds tensile stress. The diameter of the core was ten inches and the diameter of the flanges varied from twenty-four to thirty-six inches in various specific embodiments of the invention. The width or traverse of the reel in the same specific embodiments varied anywhere from ten to eighteen inches.

It can also be appreciated that the present invention provides an improved reel and method for making the same whereby the shipping weight of the parts going into the reel is reduced. This is true because of the fact that the plywood flanges 10 have'an initial circular shape. In the prior art reel, the initial shape of the flanges was square and the corners of the flanges were trimmed down after the flanges had been shipped to the assembly point. Thus, this reduction in the shipping weight of the flanges is made possible by forming the flanges from cut-to-shape plywood instead of conventional non-laminated or non veneered lumber.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 35, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment reel 1% which is identical to the above described and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the exception that a different type of stave 101 is used. Each of staves 191 includes a central portion 102 which has a cross section best shown in FIG. 5 as including a flat surface 105 on the inside of the core 106 and a part-cylindrical surface 1117 on the outside of the core. The fiat surface 1115 and part-cylindrical surface 107 are joined by surfaces 110 which extend radially of y the core.

Thus, when the core 106 is assembled as fragmentarily shown in FIG. 5, the external surface defined by the staves making up the core is a cylinder while the internal surface is a polyhedron.

The central portion 102 of each stave further includes a pair of shoulders 111 which extend between the flat surface 105 and part-cylindrical internal surfaces 112 of end portions 115 of the stave 1111. The end portions 115 of the embodiment of FIGS. 3-5 are identical in configuration to the end portions of the reel of FIGS. 1 and 2 and are similarly received within the annular indentation 116 identical to the annular indentation 16 above described. Unlike the above described embodiment, the shoulder 111 of each stave and at each end of each stave bears against the surface 117 of one of the flanges 129. It will be noted that the surface 117 of each flange 1251 is located inside of the annular indentation 116.

In manufacturing one specific application of the reel shown in FIG. 3, plywood making up the flanges 120 til.

is routed out to a depth of approximately five-sixteenths of an inch in order to form the annular indentation 116. Such routing penetrates two laminations of the particular plywood used. As a result, there is a tendency for the surface 117 and the laininations of which the surface is a part to work away from the remainder of the flange as the reel is subjected to various stresses. There is little or no tendency for such action to occur as to the surface 121 external of the routed-out indentation 11d since this surface is inherently much larger and thus, the attachment of the laminations extends over a greater area. In the embodiment of H63. 1 and 2, there is nothing to prevent the breaking away of the laminations corresponding to the surface 117. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the shoulders 111 on the staves 101 bear against and hold this inner surface 117 and the laminations behind it in place thus preventing breaking apart of the reel and producing a much stronger reel. It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the projections partially defined by the surfaces 112 substantially fill the recess 116 while the shoulders 111 bear against the surface 117.

The staves 101 are easily formed by forming the curved surface 1117 and the angular surfaces 1111 upon a flat board. The recess defined by the surfaces 111 and 112 at each end of the stave is then formed by a rotary mill, saw blade, router, or similar apparatus.

It has been found that the reel of FIGS. 3-5 greatly reduces the tendency of the reel of FIGS. 1 and 2 to split engthwise. It has also been found that the reel of FIGS. 3-5 is highly resistant to breaking apart when it is dropped in such a manner that one of its flanges strikes a solid surface at an angle.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are also desired to be protected. For example, it may be necessary in certain applications to provide additional straps such as the straps 21.

The invention claimed is:

1. A reel comprising a pair of plywood circular flanges each having a concentric annular indentation in one surface thereof, a plurality of staves assembled to form a cylindrical core, each of said staves having its opposite end portions seated in said indentations, each of said staves including a central portion joining said opposite end portions, said central portion further including shoulders extending radially of said core and abutting said flanges, and a pair of straps extending through the flanges and the interior of said core and holding said flanges toward one another and said core seated in said indentations with said shoulders pressed against said flanges.

2. A reel comprising a pair of plywood circular flanges each having a concentric annular indentation in one surface thereof, a plurality of staves assembled to form a cylindrical core, each of said staves having its opposite end portions seated in said indentations, each of said staves including a central portion joining said opposite end portions, each central potrion having a cross section which is curved to a part-circular shape at the outside of said core and is flat on the inside of said core, each central portion further including shoulders joining the staves flat surface and opposite end portions, said shoulders extending radially and abutting said flanges, and a pair of straps extending through the flanges and the interior of said core and holding said flanges toward one another and said core seated in said indentations.

3. A reel comprising a pair of circular plywood flanges each having a concentric annular indentation in one surface thereof extending through at least one lamination of said plywood flanges, a plurality of staves assembled to form a cylindrical core, each of said staves having its opposite end portions seated in said indentations, each of said staves including a central portion joining said opposite end portions, each central portion having a cross section Which is curved to a part-circu1ar surface at the outside of said core and has a flat surface on the inside of said core, each central portion further including sides joining said part-circular surface and said flat surface, said sides extending radially of said core, each central portion further including shoulders joining the staves flat surface and opposite end portions, said shoulders extending radially and abutting said flanges, and a pair of straps extending through the flanges and the interior of said core and holding said flanges toward one another and said core seated in said indentations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 200,706 Fay Feb. 26,

Luck Apr. 18, 459,646 Pleukharp Sept. 15, 651,625 Hendrick June 12, 815,683 Cost Mar. 20,

Washburn Dec. 31,

10 1,753,342 Hubbard Apr. 8,

2,499,268 Crooks Feb. 28,

FOREIGN PATENTS 836,820 Germany Apr. 17,

Great Britain Nov. 18, 

1. A REEL COMPRISING A PAIR OF PLYWOOD CIRCULAR FLANGES EACH HAVING A CONCENTRIC ANNULAR INDENTATION IN ONE SURFACE THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF STAVES ASSEMBLED TO FORM A CYLINDRICAL CORE, EACH OF SAID STAVES HAVING ITS OPPOSITE END PORTIONS SEATED IN SAID INDENTATIONS, EACH OF SAID STAVES INCLUDING A CENTRAL PORTION JOINING SAID OPPOSITE END PORTIONS, SAID CENTRAL PORTION FURTHER INCLUDING SHOULDERS EXTENDING RADIALLY OF SAID CORE AND ABUTTING SAID FLANGES, AND A PAIR OF STRAPS EXTENDING THROUGH THE FLANGES 